XAFS studies of nickel-doped lead telluride

Abstract

The problem of impurities and defect states in lead telluride-based semiconductors is of crucial importance for their practical applications. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) techniques are capable to address some of the key issues regarding impurities position, their valent state, as well as the local structural changes of the host lattice in the immediate surrounding of the impurity atoms. In this paper we present the results of the Ni K-absorption edge XAFS studies of Ni-doped PbTe at different temperatures. Analysis of near edge and extended XAFS regions of the measured spectra provided information about exact local environment and lattice ordering around Ni atoms. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.